Humiliation routine for Indians in Pak

Himanshu Kaushik TNN 

Ahmedabad: If an Indian wants something as basic as a soap for bathing in a Pakistani prison, he has to wash undergarments of Pakistani inmates. And this is among many humiliations meted out to Indians behind bars across the border.
    Fishermen from Gujarat often suffer the soul-destroying experiences in Pakistan as the country’s Maritime Security Agency routinely picks them up for venturing too close to their waters. Currently, 483 Gujarati fishermen are in Pakistani prisons.
    Indian prisoners are served dry rotis with dishwater and are made to clean the prisons. Torture of the extreme kind is also a routine affair.
    “More than the food, it is the humiliation by both inmates and officials that you can’t digest after a point. If you complain, you have to be ready for torture,” said Kanji Bariya, a fisherman from Porbandar, who returned from a Pakistani jail three years back. He spent two years behind bars there.
    “During inspections, lower rank officials would threaten us to keep our mouth shut or face the consequences,” he said. “Once, several Indian prisoners went on a hunger strike in Landhi jail in Karachi after we were forced to eat nonvegetarian food. The superintendent heard our pleas and ensured vegetarian meals. The consequence was that once the superintendant left, two prisoners held me down and a jail official repeatedly hit me on my private parts.”
    Ramji Babu, another fishermen from Porbandar who spent 11 months in a Pakistani jail before his release in 2008, saw his fellow inmate tortured to death. “Bhagwan Das was tortured to death, but when human right activists came for an inquiry, we were tutored to say that he was electrocuted while switching on a washing machine,” he said. “We were told that we would meet Das’s fate if we said anything different.”
    Babu added the jail was spread over 14 lakh square yards and cleaning it was largely the responsibility of the Indian inmates. 
Centre asks states to beef up security for Pak inmates 
New Delhi: Immediately after news of Sarabjit Singh’s death was flashed on TV news channels, the Centre on early Thursday morning re-issued its advisory to all states asking them to step up security of their respective jails, where around 220 Pakistani prisoners are lodged.
    Twenty Pakistani prisoners are lodged in the high-security Tihar Jail in the national Capital, whereas the rest are in prisons located in Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
    Twelve out of 20 in Tihar Jail are convictedPakistani prisoners, whereas the rest are undertrails. Most of the Pakistani prisoners were arrested on charges of terrorism and drug peddling.
    Repeating what it had said in its earlier note after the assault on Sarabjit last week, the Union home ministry on Thursday asked the states to ensure proper security to the Pakistani prisoners expressing apprehension that they may be targeted as a reaction to the attack on Sarabjit. Some of the terrorists lodged in Tihar Jail are Mohammad Arif, who is a convict in the Red Fort attack case, and Khalid Mehmood. TNN

After 23 yrs in Pak jail, Sarabjit returns amidst tears & anger

After 23 yrs in Pak jail, Sarabjit returns amidst tears & anger Opp Tears Into ‘Weak’ Govt, PM TIMES NEWS NETWORK  Lahore/New Delhi/Amritsar: After 23 long years, Sarabjit Singh finally returned to his homeland, but in a coffin. The murderous attack on the Indian prisoner on death row in Pakistan’s Lahore jail, which led to his death, triggered countrywide anger on Thursday. The surcharged atmosphere has not only dealt a heavy blow to the prospects of improved ties with the estranged neighbour but also exposed the government to a fresh round of attacks for pursuing a “weak” foreign policy.      Even as Sarabjit was virtually proclaimed a martyr with the Punjab government deciding to accord him a funeral with full state honours and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declaring him a “brave son of India”, anger against Pakistan spiked with slogans of “Pakistan hai hai” (down with Pakistan) reverberating in both Houses of Parliament.     Both Houses observed silence and passed resolutions mourning Sarabjit’s death in Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital in the early hours of Thursday, at once propelling the man – who India maintained was an innocent man who had strayed into Pakistan in a state of inebriation – into the pantheon of patriots.     A resident of Bhikiwind village in Amritsar, Sarabit was charged and convicted by Pakistan for allegedly killing Pakistani citizens in a bomb attack. He succumbed to serious injuries inflicted on him by fellow Pakistani prisoners in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail. The brutal attack on a death row convict, who is supposed to be kept in complete isolation, smacked of connivance by the Pakistani jail authorities.     While this had already fueled outrage, the fact that the Pakistani authorities did not consult India before taking him off the life support system added to the anger. Foreign ministry spokesperson SyedAkbaruddin was unusually direct when he commented on the conduct of Pakistani authorities: “We wanted Sarabjit to live for as long as possible. We never were consulted about removing Sarabjit’s life support system.”  FORGOTTEN IN LIFE, FETED IN DEATH  Sarabjit, in coma since attack on him by inmates at Lahore Jail on Apr 26, dies of cardiac arrest around 1am on Thursday Body flown to his village, Bhikiwind, in the evening. State funeral on Friday Rahul Gandhi, Sushilkumar Shinde meet Sarabjit’s family members, promise all help Punjab govt promises Rs 1 crore to family, govt jobs to daughters; declares 3-day mourning. Sarabjit’s last wish was for his daughter Swapandeep to become a lawyer Govt comes under attack from Sarabjit’s family, opposition. Accused of inaction and an ineffectual foreign policy CRIME & PUNISHMENT CHARGE AGAINST HIM | Arrested in 1990 under the name Manjit Singh. Accused of being a spy and sentenced to death for bombings in Punjab province that killed 14 people in 1990 HIS DEFENCE | Family says it was a case of mistaken identity; Sarabjit was not Manjit. Says he crossed border into Pakistan on Aug 8, 1990 in a drunken state      I am deeply saddened. Those behind     the barbaric and murderous attack must be brought to justice —MANMOHAN SINGH There was a need for pressure on Pakistan. But Delhi govt left it to his family. Sarabjit’s sister cried for help, but Delhi did not show its power —NARENDRA MODI Zardari killed my brother for (victory in) elections. I will fight for the other Sarabjits languishing in Pakistani jails     —DALBIR KAUR | SARABJIT’S SISTERPak cold-shouldered pleas made on humanitarian grounds: PM  Lahore/New Delhi/Amritsar: Conspiracy theories about Sarabjit Singh’s death were rife on Thursday, with few believing Pakistan government’s account that the prisoner died of cardiac arrest. The Punjab government has ordered a second postmortem after the body was brought by a special plane to Amritsar. In Pakistan a judicial inquiry has been ordered. Sarabjit’s cremation is scheduled for 2pm on Friday.     The depth of resentment was reflected when the usually mild-mannered Manmohan Singh, who has been a votary for better bilateral ties with Pakistan, contributed to the groundswell of anger against the Pakistani authorities when he pointed out that they had cold-shouldered impassioned pleas for Sarabjit’s release on humanitarian grounds.     “It is particularly regrettable that the government of Pakistan did not heed the pleas of the government of India, Sarabjit’s family and of civil society,” the PM said even as his government came under attack for failing to secure the prisoner’s release.     Singh also lavished praise on Sarabjit, whose death is certain to become a political issue. “I am deeply shocked by the passing away of SarabjitSingh. He was a brave son of India who bore his tribulations with valiant fortitude,” Singh said.     Saying the nation shared the grief of Sarabjit’s family, he added, “May his soul be granted the peace he could not get in life.”     Singh’s generous tribute was part of a larger process of canonizing Sarabjit, a dalit from Amritsar, while the Akali government in Punjab was furiously matching the Centre’s efforts to champion the sentiment.     As the Centre showed rare vigour to dispatch an Air India plane to bring Sarabjit’s body to Amritsar, the Punjab government, apart from deciding to give him a “state funeral”, announced jobs for his two daughters. An assistance of Rs 1 crore was also announced for the family.     However, the uniform solidarity for Sarabjit failed to put a stop to partisan fingerpointing, with Gujarat CM Narendra Modi accusing both Indian and Pakistani governments of “misleading people” on Sarabjit’s case. He accused Pakistan of having carried out “extra-judicial killing”, and stressed that the neighbour could not be trusted.     “Sarabjit’s extra-judicial killing is yet another grim reminder that expecting Pakistan to follow due process of law in any sphere is futile,” Modi posted on Twitter even as he accused the Centre of being unable to give a fitting answer to Pakistan’s “inhuman acts”.     His party chief Rajnath Singh asked for the recall of the Indian high commissioner in Pakistan and scaling down of diplomatic ties, while leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj termed the death a “cold blooded murder”.     The Akalis, who were already attacking Congress for the acquittal of 1984 anti-Sikh riots accused Sajjan Kumar, kept up the pressure, with both chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and his daughter in-law Harsimrat Kaur attacking the government for failing to be tough with Pakistan over Sarabjit.     The bickering, however, only added to Sarabjit’s newfound status as a braveheart and a patriot who was killed by Pakistan on trumped up charges. TV channels ceaselessly showed Sarabjit’s elder sister Dalbir Kaur swaying their audience with her attacks on Pakistan, tugging at the heart strings of many. By the time his body came back, the unfortunate dalit from Bhikiwind village loomed large over the horizon, dwarfing all else, as the latest symbol of what many saw as Pakistan’s hostility and duplicity.

With 750 sq km at stake, India gets tough with China

With 750 sq km at stake, India gets tough with China

China Replenishes Supplies To Its Troops In DBO

Rajat Pandit & Sanjay Dutta TNN 

New Delhi: The “acne” could well turn into a deep scar on India’s face, with the Chinese reinforcing their position across the Line of Actual Control and raising the real prospect of India losing access to 750 sq km in the strategically crucial northern Ladakh. 
    While China on Tuesday rebuffed India’s plea to withdraw its troops squatting 19 km inside Indian territory at Raki Nala in the Depsang Bulge area, fresh imagery from Indian spy drones has now shown that the People’s Liberation Army has already taken to using trucks to replenish supplies for its over 32 troops stationed there. The pictures, which also show that PLA is trying to convert the track there into a proper road, are transforming what the government had called a “localized problem’’ into a first-rate diplomatic crisis.
    The audacious intrusion into the Depsang Bulge, a table-top plateau, threatens to cut off India’s access to some 750 sq km area in northern Ladakh: an area roughly half the size of Delhi. The face-off site is just about 35 km south of the strategic Karakoram Pass, which is at the tri-junction of China-Pakistan-India borders, and overlooks the Siachen Glacier-Saltoro Ridge to the west and the Indian observation post in the Chumar sector to the east. Indian Army and ITBP patrols to Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) and the Karakoram Pass have to trek across the Saser and Depsang passes – both in excess of 16,000 feet -- on foot from Sasoma, which is over 80 km north of Leh. So, loss of control over the Depsang Bulge would cut off access to the areas north of the passes.
    Officers who have done stints there say the Depsang Bulge is the only staging area in the region from where Indian forces can group men and machine to launch any action. This is because the bulge is the only wide open land in the region which is full of high jagged ridges of the Karakoram range in the north and Ladakh range in the south.
    The recognition has started toughening India’s response, with Army chief General Bikram Singh on Wednesday briefing the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on the “counter-measures’’ possible. While a military showdown is not imminent, India may escalate its protest from de-Cloud over Khurshid, Li visit as stand-off on
    With no end to the border face-off in sight, India is working the diplomatic channels to impress upon China that upcoming visits, including foreign minister Salman Khurshid’s Beijing trip on May 9 and Chinese PM Li Keqiang’s maiden visit on May 20, may be in danger. While there is no breakthrough in talks at “all levels”, China has not been hostile to diplomatic overtures. P 8 
marches into a reappraisal of bilateral ties just ahead of the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on May 20.
    Government sources admitted the developments over the past 48 hours, with the third flag meeting also failing to break the deadlock, have radically transformed the nature of the standoff, and the May 9 visit of foreign minister Salman Khurshid – who had initially described the incident as just an “acne’’ that would not impede the upward trajectory in bilateral ties -- to Beijing could be in jeopardy. 
BATTLE OF THE BULGE 
2 patrol routes to DBO and Karakoram Pass fence the Depsang bulge
Both routes converge at DBO and lead on to strategically vital Karakoram Pass This is only ‘staging area’ for grouping men and machines in case of any action If control is lost over the area, some 750 sq km will be cut off from Indian accessGen suggests several options 
New Delhi: Gen Singh, on his part, gave several options to the CCS, ranging from cutting off supply lines of the Chinese troops at Raki Nala to Indian troops conducting a similar manoevre in some other sector. But the government is sticking to the “no military escalation’’ policy as of now, even as it works the diplomatic channels. But China is insisting on the demolition of India’s observation post at Chumar as a pre-condition for de-escala- tion. As the ties threaten to nosedive, the observation post that can overlook troop movements on the Chinese side has emerged as the main bone of contention. China, which is already miffed with India’s re-activation of advanced landing grounds at Daulat Beg Oldi, Fukche and Nyoma and building of other infrastructure along the LAC over the last four-five years, is uncomfortable with Indian being able to peep at the movement on the highway. TNN

70% of US medical schools ban docs from taking gifts

70% of US medical schools ban docs from taking gifts

Rema Nagarajan TIMES INSIGHT GROUP 

    Over 70% of the medical schools in the US have tightened their conflict of interest policies by totally banning gifts to doctors by pharmaceutical companies and prohibiting their faculty from taking money to be speakers for companies or allowing firms to directly fund medical education sessions.
    Harvard Medical School and medical schools of Stanford University, Boston University and Tufts University among several others have banned all gifts and on-site meals funded by the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry no matter how small or inexpensive. Many more medical schools have also prohibited sponsorship of on-campus continuing medical education (CME) by the healthcare industry and banned participation by their faculty in programmes for and by the industry.
    This was revealed in the 2013 Pharmfree Scorecard, a national overview of all US medical schools and their conflict of interest policies prepared by the American Medical Students’ Association (AMSA) along with the Pew Charitable Trusts’ prescription project. This is the sixth Pharmafree Scorecard, a survey launched in 2007 to grade medical schools’ policies on monitoring and restricting interaction of their faculty and students with the healthcare industry in 11 areas, including gifts, meals, drug samples and faculty participation in sponsored CMEs.
    Out of 158 medical institutions approached, 153 participated. Of these, 40 receive “A”s and 75 got “B”s compared to a total of just 45 medical schools scoring A and B grades in 2009.
    Thus the 2013 scorecard showed more institutions adopting stronger conflict-of-interest (COI) standards. The 13 institutions which received an “F” included two schools with no conflict of interest policy in place, and five schools that did not respond at all.
    On the issue of on-campus CME, the ideal policy was identified as not allowing industry to provide direct financial support for educational activities, including CME, directly or through a subsidiary agency.
    However, companies could contribute to a central fund at the institution where the pooled funds would be disbursed for various programmes independent of any industry input or control.

Why is coal ministry blocking

Slams It For Giving Incomplete Answers Despite Many Reminders

Dhananjay Mahapatra TNN 

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday put the coal ministry in the dock for stonewalling CBI probe into the coal block allotment scam by failing to provide complete answers to important questions posed by investigating officers at a time when the agency feels many coal block allocations were “absolutely arbitrary”.
    Abench of Justices R M Lodha, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph said, “On one hand, your (coal ministry’s) joint secretary wants to see the CBI’s draft investigation status report meant for the court and on the other hand, the ministry does not furnish information which the CBI requires.”
    Calling on attorney general G E Vahanvati and solicitor general Mohan Parasaran to impress upon the coal ministry that it was in their interest that full cooperation was extended to the CBI, the bench said, “You (the ministry) cannot play hide and seek with the court. Otherwise we will ensure that all answers are given.”
    The bench was relentless in its caustic observations. “This is a voluminous exercise and it requires scrutiny of a large number of documents. The CBI has indicated (in its status reports) that a lot of things are not in conformity with the policy and rules and regulations. Its perception and prima facie view is very firm that the coal allocation is absolutely arbitrary. You (the AG) will deal with it in your own way to explain how things were done properly. But the CBI is very firm about its view,” the bench said.
    Vahvanvati replied, “The new coal secretary (Sanjay Srivastava) is clear that whatever document is there must be given to the CBI. What is not there, the CBI can draw inference for the absence of it.” This gave a perception that though the present coal secretary was all forcooperating with the CBI investigation, the stonewalling was probably done during his predecessor’s (Alok Perti’s) time.
    “The CBI is relying on a physical verification report of July 2012 to tell us that there was no evidence of coal allotted between 2006 and 2009 being made operational,” the bench said, prompting petitioner ML Sharma to seek a stay on mining activity in the coal blocks allotted in these three years. The bench said it would consider the request after getting all information. However, the court clarified that it was not looking into cases of individual wrongdoing.